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FLORIDA 1 



o^QV OF CONGRESS 



014 499 726 8 



FLORIDA 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH 



BY 



GEORGE J. HAGAR 




THE WERNER COMPANY. Publishers 
AKRON, OHIO, U. S. A. 

1904 



UB'''^«V »t CONSRFSS! 
fvrt) Oouies Received 
SEP 27 1904 
^ Oowrteht Entry 

GLA3S <^ XXe. Na 

OOPY B 



Copyright, 1904, 

BY 

THE WERNER COMPANY 






FLORIDA. 

-<«^UkORIDA, one of the States of the American Union, consti- 
^BBtuting the extretiie southern portion of the national domain, 
^^ktl runkinj; as the twenty-seventh State in the Union, be- 
inj.'^i^ fourteenth admitted uikUt the Federal constitution. 

Jjociilinn mil/ Area. — The State is hounded l)y Alabama and 
Georgia on the north, by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and by 
the Gulf of Mexico and the I'erdido Kiver on the south and 
west; is inclosed by the latitudes of 2i^ 30' and 
Location, 31'^ north, and the lonifitudes of 80*^ and 87^ 45' 
area. west ; has an extreme lireadth from east to west 

of 400 miles ami an extreme length from north to 
south of 460 miles; and has an aL'grej^ate area of 58,(!80 square 
miles, of which 54,240 square miles are land surface and 4,440 
square miles are water surface. 

Physical Features. — The coast-line is loiio;er than tliat of any 
other State, measurinj; about 472 miles on the Atlantic and C74 
on the (iiilf ; but it is indented every few miles by lart^e bays ex- 
tendin!» inland, in many places from ten to thirty miles, and with 
lari^e rivers like the St. John's, St. JIary's, Suwannee, and 
Appalachicola, navigable from north to south and easterly and 
westerly between the ocean and the(iulf. There are many other 
connectintj, navigable streams in all parts of the 
River.s, State, and lakes, large and small, both scattered 

lakes. and grouped together, all of which abound with ex- 

cellent varieties of tish and furnish exceptional 
transportation facilities. Many of the lakes connect with navi- 
gable streams, and almost all could lie united by short canals or 
railroads with each other and with the great arteries of water 
leading to the ocean and the Gulf. The peculiar position of the 
State, its peninsular form, its gulf and ocean environment, give 
it an unusual physical interest. The jieninsular portion proper, 
somewhat suggestive of Italy, is aljont 300 miles in length, with 
an average width of about 100 miles, and gradually narrows 
from "north to south till it terminates in the chain of keys that 
swings .around to the west. The trade winds of the Atlantic 
sweep across the peninsula from east to west by day, and the 
cool winds of the Gtdf succeed by night ; thus cool nights almost 
invarialily follow warm days. Generally, the land surface 
is level and at no considerable elevation above ti<le-water. 
About midway from north to south the land bordering on the 
ocean and the Gulf is broken by occasional ridges. In east 
Florida, about half-way between the ocean and the Suwannee 
IliviT, there is a tableland elevation reaching nearly to the Kver- 
glades. The extreme southern portion of the State is low, but 

— 3 — 



surveys have demonstrated that much of it can be effectually 
drained and made available for cultivation. The soil in the 
j^reater part of the State is sandy ; in the high lands and 
hammocks considerable quantities of clay and alluvium are 
found. The soil also contains more or less loam 
and a large percentage of lime and organic remains, Soil, 

which give it much fertility. The surface is well 
watered, not only by the rivers and lakes, but by innumerable 
creeks and springs. Many of the latter are found in great 
volume in every part of the State; some of such magnitude that 
they form navigable rivers from their sources, such as the Blue 
Springs in Jackson County, in the west ; Wakulla Springs in 
Wakulla County, in the center ; Silver Springs in Marion 
County, in the east; the large Blue Spring on the St. John's 
Kiver in Volusia County ; the Green Cove Spring in (Jlay 
County ; and the Clay Spring in Orange County. Some of these 
are medicinal, containing sulphur, iron, etc. Good water is 
readily obtained at a depth of from eight to fifty feet. The dis- 
tribution of rivers, creeks, lakes, and springs is not only large, 
l)ut is remarkably uniform throughout the State. 

Climate. — Throughout the entire year rainy, cloudy, disa- 
greeable days are the exception ; fair, l)right days the rule. The 
thermometer seldom falls below 30° in winter, and rarely 
rises above 90° in summer. Official records show an average 
temperature of 78° in summer and 60° in winter. In the greater 
portion of the State frost is rarely seen. The summers are 
longer, but the heat is less oppressive than mid-summer at the 
North. A Smithsonian Institution report shows the following 
mean temperature based on three daily observations 
in the twenty-three years, 1844-67, at Jackson- Teniper- 
ville, latitude 30° 15' north, longitude 82° west : ature. 

January, 55° : February, 58° ; March, 64° ; April, 
70° ; May, 76° ; June, 80° ; July, 82° ; August, 82° ; September, 
78° ; October, 70° ; November, 62° ; December, 52°. Array 
records show a variation of 23° in a period of twenty years at St. 
Augustine. In ten years the rainfall at Jacksonville averaged 
54.5 inches. The climate, from the foregoing, is seen to be 
equable and especially adapted to vegetation. The hygienic 
disadvantages of the State are yellow, malarial, and inter- 
mittent fevers ; yet Florida is rapidly becoming a popular winter 
resort for pleasure-seekers, and for invalids who are obliged to 
have relief from the rigors of the northern winters. 

A(/)-icidture. — The list of Florida productions embraces nearly 
all the crops and fruits of the Middle, Northern, and Southern 
States, and in addition a great variety of tropical and senii- 
tro])ical fruits and vegetables, besides a large number of 
medicinal and fibrous plants of high value. Among the most 

— 4 — 



iiotewortliy comniercially of the aj^riciiltuiul jiin- 
jluctiuiis are : Corn, principally the wliitt' variety, Produc- 

lariiely used in meal and hominy for food, espe- tions. 

cially in the South ; sugar-cane, introduced hy the 
earliest colonists, and since cultivated liy their Spanish, French, 
English, and American successors, the industry being promoted 
hy the long period of warm weather and the absence of cold, the 
cane thus having more time to mature ; Sea Island, or long- 
staple, cotton, grown chiefly between the ocean and the 
Suwannee Hiver, and south of latitude ^iO^, this State raising 
over one-half of the total of this variety ; rice ; the citrus 
family, including the orange, lemon, lime, grape fruit, shaddock, 
citron, etc. ; tobacco, which will grow anywhere in 
the State, a superior quality being from Cuban seed, Fruit. 

mostly grown in Gadsden and adjoining counties ; 
the banana, pineapple, and guava, most successfully grown in 
the southern counties ; Japan plum ; the apjde (early varieties), 
pear, quince, peach, apricot, and nectarine ; grapes, embracing 
most of the American and foreign varieties, and especially the St. 
Augustine grape and the scuppernong; strawberries, which, 
planted in September, often yield in .lanuary, and may be 
counted in full-bearing in March and Ai)ril: peanuts; melons, 
and other similar fruits, which attain much greater .size and 
weight than in the Northern States ; the sweet potato, which 
yields from 100 to 400 bushels per acre ; and arrowroot, 
cassava, and com])tie, which yield largely under cultivation, and 
are valualde for starch and food. The orange, for 
which Florida is widely famous, is grown in three Oranges, 
varieties, the sour, the sweet, and the bitter-sweet. 
The sour and bitter-sweet are supposed to be indigenous, grow- 
ing wild in the forests. Budded, the sweet orange will com- 
mence to bear the third year; the seedling in the sixth, 
increasing each succeeding year. In 1879 about .^lO, 000, 000 
were invested in tlic orange groves of this State, and the business 
of the year was worth nearly .51,000,000. In a favorable year 
4.5,000,000 oranges have been shipped from Florida in a single 
season. The lemon is more prolific than the orange, and bears 
earlier ; and the lime still more than the lemon ; both, however, 
are more sensitive to frost than the orange. 

The United States census of 1870 rei)orted in Florida 10,241 
farms, comprisint: •2,.'i7-!..541 acres, of which 7-'iti,172 acres were 
improved and l,(vJ7, •'!()!* acres unimproved. The 
average size of the farms was 232 acres. The value Farms, 

of all farms was re])orted at .'i?9,947,n20 and the 
value of all farming im])lements and machinery at ^')Oii,Q'i. In 
the census year the chief productions were : Indian corn, 2,225,- 
05(5 bushels; oats, 114,204 bushels: rice, 401,fi87 pounds; 



tobacco, 157,405 pounds; sweet potatoes, 789,456 bushels; 
<;otton, 39,78!) bales; butter, 100,989 pounds; and wool, 37,562 
pounds. The live-stock comprised 10,902 horses; 8,835 mules 
and asses ; 6,292 working oxen ; 61,922 milch cows ; 322,701 
other cattle; 26,599 sheep; and 158,908 swine — total value, 
^5,212,157. 

Timber Lands. — The forest lands of Florida are ordinarily 
classed as pine lands, hammocks (lands covered with hard wood), 

and swamp lands, and these, in turn, are distin- 
Forest guished as first, second, and third quality of pine, 

growths. liiffh and low hammocks, inland prairies, etc. The 

hammocks, hisrh and low, are densely covered with 
hard woods, such as the widely-celebrated live-oak, oak, mag- 
nolia, gum, hickory, etc. ; the swamp lands are more or less 
timbered with pine, cypress, cedar, and soft woods ; the savannas 
are covered with grass, with here and there a cabbage palm-tree ; 
and the Everglades are vast prairies more or less dry or sub- 
merged. The first rate pine lands are generally elevated and 
rolling, and the timber, which is very regularly distributed, con- 
sists principally of pitch pine. The second rate pine lands are 
also heavily timbered, and are more or less high and rolling. 
The third rate pine lands are high, rolling, sandy ridges, bearing 
black jack and pine, and low lands, frequently swampy, bearing 
cypress. These flat lands are commercially valuable for the pro- 
duction of naval stores — resin, tar. turpentine, etc., and the trees 
can be bled profitably for turpentine for from five to seven years, 

and then cut down for mill logs. The richest lands 
Rich are swamp, high and low hammock, first class pine, 

lands. oak, and hickory lands. All these varieties of land, 

excepting the savannas and Everglades, will produce 
semi-tropical fruits and fibrous plants of economic value. They 
have a durable fertility, and are well adapted to the usual agri- 
cultural products. The high hammocks are the most sought for 
by experienced planters; the low hammocks are particularly 
suitable for sugar-cane ; and the first class pine, oak, and 
hickory lands, in the central portion of the State, are preferred 
for diversified farming. 

il/((»///'r/c/»y(s.^ The material interests of the State at pres- 
ent are chiefly those having their origin in commerce and in the 
productions of tlie farm, orchard, and forest. In m.anufacturing 

the United States census of 1870 reported, however, 
Manufac- 659 establishments or plants, operated on an aggre- 
tures. gate capital of iRl,679,930; employing 2,549 persons; 

paying an annual average of .*!989,592 for wages 
and .f2, 330, 873 for materials used in manufacturing: and having 
•a combined output valued at .'84,685,403. The principal articles 
of manufacture were cigars, lumber products, flour and grist- 

— 6 — 



mill iji'oduuts, turpentine, resin, palmetto hats, pine orancje 
boxes, cedar cij^ar boxes, live-oak ship timber, shiji spars, etc. 
The preparation for commercial use of sponi;es, allij^ator skins, 
sea-salt, and cotton-seed are important and i^rowint; industries, 
Florida has his^h rank in the |)rodnctioii of the various commodi- 
ties otficially classified as naval stores. 

Transportation. — As previously stated, no State of the 
Union has so extended a sea-coast as Florida, and none possesses 
a lari^er extent of navis^able water; nor is there any State which 
has u;reater facilities for cheap, permanent, and reliable commu- 
nication with the commercial wants of tlie North and West. 

Ocean steamers leave New York, Boston, I'hila- 
Transpor- delphia, Baltimore, Charleston, Savannah, etc., 
tatiou. res^ularly for Florida, with ample accommodations for 

passengers, and fully adequate appointments for 
freight. Connections are made at Fernaudina and Waldo with 
important railroad systems; at Cedar Keys with lines of Gulf 
steamers to Tampa, Key W(\st, New Orleans, all (}ulf ports, and 
Havana; at .Jacksonville with numerous steamers on the St. 
.Tohn's and Ocklawaha Rivers, which connect at Tocoi, Aster, 
Sanford, and Salt Lake with St. Aus^ustine, Orlando, Indian 
River, and Titusville by railroad and at Lake Poinsett with 
lines of stages to the Indian River at Rock Ledge. At Ellaville 
the railroad intersects the Suwannee River, which is navigated 

by steamers to Cedar Keys. All-rail routes with 
Railroads, close connections and through palace and sleeping 

cars and fast freight lines with ventilated cars for 
fruits and vegetables connect Florida with Montgomery, 
Louisvil'.e, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, Savannah, Charles- 
ton, Richmond, Washington, Baltimore, I'hiladelphia. New 
York, and Boston, thus affording the largest facilities for rapid 
transit, while the numerous couipeting lines prevent exorbitant 
charges. Lines of sailing vessels also ])ly constantly between 
the ports of Florida and those of the North Atlantic States, 
affording transportation for the manufactures and products of 
the North in exchange for the lumber, naval stores, manufac- 
tures, and non-perishaide products of the South, at rates so low 
as to place the State in competition, in the markets of the 
North, with the most favored States of the West. For several 

years there has been an active agitation for the con- 
Proposed struction of a ship-canal from the mouth of the St. 
ship-canal. Mary's Kiver on the Atlantic to some convenient 

point on the Gulf of Mexico, and in 1877 Gen. 
Quincy A. (Jillmore, the distinguished military engineer, 
reported a plan to the Secretary of War, in response to a resolu- 
tion of the United States Senate; but u]) to the time of writing 
no construction had been authorized. 

— 7 — 



Commerce . — It has alre.ady been shown that Florida possesses 
unusual facilities for transportation; but there are other advan- 
tages for the promotion of commerce, both foreign and domestic. 
On her Atlantic coast is the safe, deep, and commodious harbor 
of Fernandina, which is connected by water far into the interior 
of Georgia by the St. Mary's River, navigable for the largest 
vessels. The harbor at the mouth of the St. John's River is 
also safe and large, and has sufficient depth of water for ordinary 
sea-going craft. This river with its tributaries is navigable by 
large-sized vessels for 200 miles and by smaller ones for over 500 
miles. St. Augustine, too, has a safe harbor for 
moderate-sized vessels and ordinary coastwise Ports and 
steamers, and Smyrna and Jupiter Inlet connect harbors, 
with the Indian and Halifax Rivers which have 
courses of many miles in length. Farther south are a num- 
ber of smaller ports, and the Turtle harbor, deep, large, and 
safe. At the extreme southern point of the peninsula is Key 
West, one of the best ports of North America, where the largest 
vessels find easy and safe approach at all times, and where the 
bulk of the mercantile shipping of the world could congregate 
simultaneously. On the Gulf coast there are Tampa, with its 
bay extending thirty miles inland, Charlotte, Bayport, Cedar 
Keys, St. Marks, Appalachicola, a number of intermediate 
harbors, and the outlets of bays and rivers extending far into the 
interior. In the extreme west is the magnificent harbor of 
Pensacola, land-locked, large, and deep. The largest vessels in 
the world can easily float to the city docks. The United States 
customs districts and ports of entry on the Atlantic coast are St. 
Augustine, St. John's, and Fernandina, and on the Gulf coast, 
Appalachicola, Key West, Pensacola, St. Marks, and Tampa. 

Education. — The present educational system of the State 
was created by the constitution of 1868. In 1870-71 only about 
one-fifth of the children of the State received educational bene- 
fits; in 1873 private citizens in several counties gave money, 
lands, and school buildings to aid the system; in 1875-79, 25 per 
cent, more school houses were built, 50 per cent, more pupils 
were taught, a gradually increased enrollment of the school pop- 
ulation was made, and more efficient teachers were secured. Up 
to 1875 there were few schools outside of the large towns, while 
in 1879 nearly GOO were scattered through the rural districts. 
Little has been done in the way of superior, scien- 
tific, and professional instruction. Attempts have Rural 
been made to organize an agricultural college as the schools, 
nucleus of a State university, but they have failed, 
for a variety of reasons. The East Florida Seminary, located 
at Ocala in 1853 and removed to Gainesville in 1866, is 
now known as the East Florida Seminary State Normal School. 



The normal course extends over three years an<l a diploma of 
this school is eiiuivalent to a State certificate. In 1869 the 
^iperintcndcnt of public instruction was required to assemhle 
public school teachers in institutes and employ competent in- 
structors to inform them of im])roved methods of conducting the 
schools; but there was little proo;ross till 1879, when teachers' 
institutes were held in most of tlu' Icuiliii!^ counties. In 1870-71 
the West Florida vSeniinary at 'I'alhihassee was converted into a 
State and county high school; in 1872 a school of high grade was 
in successful operation in Jacksonville; in 1870-78 fifteen such 
schools were reported; and in 1878-79 there were ;J,358 pupils 
studying the higher branches. Public school statistics for the 
school year 1878-79 present the following items: 
Number of children of school age (4-21) in the Statistics. 
State (enumeration of ]87(i), 72,985; number en- 
rolled in the public schools, 37,034; number in average daily 
attendance, 25,(j01; number of school districts, 39; number of 
public schools, 1,0,50; number of male teachers, C4G; number of 
female teachers, 322; total number of teachers, 9G8; expenditure 
of the year for maintenance of schools, .'i?140,703; and amount of 
available State school funds, .'5243,900. The institutions for 
higher instruction were the State and county high school at 
T.allahassee, chartered in 1851 under the name of the Seminary 
AVest of the Suwannee River; the State Normal School at Gaines- 
ville, opened in 1853 as the East Florida Seminary; St. Hilda's 
School (Protestant F^piscopal) at Pensacola, opened in 1856; the 
Florida State College at Tallahassee, opened in 1857 ; the Peabody 
High School at Lake City, opened in 1867; the Cookman Insti- 
tute (Methodist P>piscopal) at .Jacksonville, opened in 1872; the 
Union Academy (for colored youtli) at Gainesville, opened in 
1876; and the Duval County High School at .Jacksonville, 
opened in 1877. Of libraries there were the State 
library at Tallahassee, fotmded in 1845, containing I<ibraries. 
9,500 volumes; the St. .Joseph's Academy library at 
St. Augustine, founded in 1870, containing 1,6.50 volumes; the 
Santa Rosa Academy library (free to the public for reference) at 
ISIilton, founded in 1874, containing 5,000 volumes; and the Free 
Pulilic library at St. Augustine, founded in 1874, containing 
4,000 volumes. 

Illiteracy. — The returns of the United States census of 1870 
contained the following statistics relating to Florida : Numlier 
of persons 10 years old and upward who could not read, 66,238 ; 
who could not write, 71,803. Of the white ])()pula- 
tion who could not write there were 2,691 males and Illiter- 

2,392 females from 10 to 15 years old ; 2,146 males ates. 

and 2,199 females from 15 to 21 years old ; and 
3,876 males and 5,600 females 21 years old and upward. Of the 



colored population who could not write there were 4,190 males 
and 3,513 females from 10 to 15 years old ; 4,957 males and 5,376 
females from 15 to 21 years old ; and 16,806 males and 18,052 
females 21 years old and upward. 

Relif/ion. — Since 1865 there has been an unusually active de- 
velopment of religious interests, especially in the northern coun- 
ties. The inflow of business men and capital from other States, 

the steadily increasing number of winter health- 
Church seekers, and the natural enlargement of commercial 
bodies. and industrial operations, have both broadened the 

field of effort and yielded the means for promoting 
religious activities. The following is believed to be a fair divi- 
sion of the regular church membership among the denomina- 
tions represented in the State in the order of numerical strength : 
Afrieiui Methodist Episcopal: Methodist Episcopal, South ; Reg- 
ular liaptist, South; Regular Baptist, Colored; Roman Catholic ; 
Methodist Episcopal ; Protestant Episcopal ; Presbyterian ; Dis- 
ciples of Christ ; and Congregational. There are probably 550 
church and chapel edifices in the State, and 23,000 Sunday 
School teachers and scholars. 

Finances. — According to an official report for the year ending 
Dec. 31, 1879, the assessed valuations were : Real estate, S18,- 
885,151; personal property, .«;12,053,158 — total, .S30 938,309. 
The taxation was : State, ,'ii;23G,930 ; county, ,'ii;266,300 ; city, 

town, and village, .t?101,944— total, f 605,180. The 
Debt debt was divided as follows : State debt proper: 

bonded, .«1,280,500 : floating, .'ii;4,480 ; gross debt, 
.1?1,284,980 ; sinking fund, ,'t<150, 100 — net debt, ,«1,134,880 ; lo- 
cal debts (counties, cities, and towns): bonded, .'ii;l,28l),380 ; 
floating, f 205,249; net debt, ,^1,491,629 — making the total debt 
of the State : bonded, .f 2,566,880; floating, .f 209,729; gross debt, 
$2,776,609 ; sinking fund, .'tfl50,100 ; net debt, 5^2,626,509. 

Government. — The civil administration of Florida is based on 
the constitution adopted in 18G8, which granted the right of 

suffrage to every male person of 21 years and up- 
Suf- ward, of whatever race, color, nationality, or pre- 

frage. vious condition, who was a citizen of the United 

States, or who should have declared his intention to 
become such, and had resided in Florida one year and in the 
county six months. Idiots, duelists, and persons convicted of 
felony or any infamous crime are excluded from the suffrage. 
Marriage between whites and persons of negi'O descent is prohib- 
ited. Two years previous residence is required in proceedings 
for divorce, and wilful desertion for one year, habitual drunken- 
ness, cruel and abusive treatment, habitual indulgence in violent 
and ungovernable temper, and insanity lasting four years, are 
causes for absolute divorce. Taxes can be levied only for State, 

— 10 — 



county, and miuiioii);\l ])urposes. (»no hunflred and sixty acres, 
or one-half acre of lanil within a city or town owned hy the head 

of a family residinLj in the State, toLCether with per- 
Kxemp- sonal property to the value of .51,000 and the im- 
tion. provenients on the real estate, are exenqited from 

forced sale under any process of law; and real estate 
fannot be alienated without the Joint written consent of wife 
and husband. In addition to the al)ove exemption there is ex- 
cluded from sale by any Iei;al process any kind of jjroperty to the 
value of .'t? 1,000 which tlie head of the family nniy select. All 
property of a wife, owned before or ac(]uired after marriage, is 
made separate, and is not liabh' for del)ts contracted by the hus- 
band. The constitution established a pultlic school system, coii- 

taininn; provisions for free schools for all children. 
School The pnldic school fund consists of jjroceeds of all 

funds. United States lands granted for e(hicational pur- 

poses, the Agricultural College fund donated by the 
Federal government, and fines under iieual laws ; also a special 
tax of one mill on all taxable property, levied annually ; and 
each county is permitted to levy a tax not exceeding two and a 
half mills annually for county school purposes. 

The executive authority is vested in a governor, elected for 

four years, who must be a cjualified elector, a resi- 
Governor, dent of the United States for nine years and of l*"lor- 
etc. ida for three years prior to the. time of his election; 

and a lieutenant-governor, elected for the san)e 
period and under similar conditions. Other officers are a secre- 
tary of State, a State treasurer, a comptroller, a superintendent 
of public instruction, a commissioner of immigration, an attor- 
ney-general, and an adjutant-general. The leijislative anthority 

is vested in a Legislature consisting of a Senate 
I^egis- whose members are elected for four years, and a 

lature. House of Assendily whose mendiers are elected' for 

two years. Counties are entitled to from one to four 
assemblymen each. l>egislative sessions are held biennially, 
with a time limit of sixty days. The judicial authority 

is vested in a supreme court, consisting of a chief 
Judiciary. justice an<l two associate jnstiei'S, and iiaving ap[iel- 

late jurisdiction only ; a circuit court, consisting of 
seven judges, and having original jurisdiction in all matters, 
civil as well as criminal ; the usual county courts ; and justices 
of the peace. In 187'J the State was divided into two Coni;re.s- 
sional districts; the first cnuiprisinLr Caliiuun, Kscanilda, I'ranklin, 
Gadsden, Hernando, IlillslicirDUgh, llcilmes, .lackson, .hffer- 
son, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Manatee, Monroe, I'olk, 
Santa Rosa, Taylor, AVakulla, Walton, and Wasliinirton coun- 
ties; the second, Alachua, Baker, Brevard, Bradford, Clay, 

— 11 — 



LafC. 



Columbia, Dade, Duval, Hamilton, Madison, Marion, Nassau, 
Orange, Putnam, Saint John's, Suwannee, and Volusia. 

Population. — The following table presents the population 
population of Florida by counties and race accord- by races, 
ing to the United States census of 1870: 

Population by Counties and Race, 1870: 



COUNTIES. 


WHITE. 


COI.OEED. 


TOTAL. 




4,935 
1,085 
2,817 
1,197 

7.54 
1 ,(;99 
4,107 
72 
5,141 
4.9:37 

781 
3,764 
3,380 
2,083 
2,670 
1,4:» 
3,9:50 
3,501 
1,586 
2,895 
1,623 

727 
4,429 
1,843 
2,926 
4,631 
2,277 
1,997 
2.687 
2,487 
] ,937 
2,750 
1.972 
2,121 
1,.S74 
1,-395 
1.562 
2,G3G 
1,928 


3 2, .393 

290 

824 

19 

244 

399 

- 3,228 

13 

6,780 

2,8S0 

475 

6,038 

2,363 

854 

546 

137 

5,598 

9,897 

197 

12,311 

395 

323 

6,692 

88 

7,878 

1,026 

1,970 

198 

482 

1,334 

681 

562 

980 

1,435 

79 

328 

914 

405 

373 


17,828 


Baker 

Bradford 


1,325 
3,671 
1,216 


Calhoun 

Clay 


998 
2,098 




7,3:35 


Dade . 


85 


Duval 


11.921 




7,817 




1,256 




9,802 




5,749 




2,9:« 




3,216 




1.572 




9,528 


Jefferson " 


13,398 

1,783 


Leon 


15,236 
2,018 


Liberty 


1,050 




11,121 




1,931 




10,804 




5,657 




4,247 




2,195 


Polk 


3,169 




3,821 


Saint John's 


2,618 
3,312 




2,952 




3,556 


Taylor 


1,453 




1,723 


Wakulla 


2,506 




3,041 




2,:S02 






Totals 


96,057 


91,689 


187,748 







Notr.— T-wo Indians make the grand total as given. 



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The population of the State in 1830 was 34,730 ; in 1840, 54,477 ; 
in 1850, 87,445; and in IStiO, 140,424. The capital is Tallahas- 
see, population (1870) 2,023; other cities are Jacksonville, 0,912; 
Pensacola, 3,343; and St. Auj^ustine, 1,717. 

Jlhtory. — On Palm Sund.ay, 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon (1460- 
1521), a veteran navigator of Spain, landed near the site of the 
city of St. Aufjustine, and u;ave the region its name 
for the two-fold reason that the shore was fringed Early 

with lieautiful foliage intermingled with flowers and explorers, 
the Spanish name of the day of his landing was 
"Pascua Florida." For a long time the name Florida was gen- 
eral in Spanish writings for the whole of the Atlantic coast of 
North America. Yasquez, the Spaniard, visited the region in 
1520; Verrazani, the Florentine, in 1523; De (Jeray, the Spaniard, 
in 1.524; Panfilo de Narvaez landed an army, which was soon 
dispersed, in 152fi; Fernando de Soto explored the 
region in 1539; the Spaniards built a fort at St. Au- Spanish. 
gustine in 1565, which was captured hy the English 
in 158(i; and Pensacola was settled by the French in 1696. With 
such and other vicissitudes of fortune, the Florida territory re- 
mained practically in possession of the Spaniards till 1763, when 
the whole region under the name of Florida was ceded to Eng- 
land in exchange for Cuba, which the English had 
recently acquired. The F>nglish divided the terri- English, 
tory into the two provinces of East Florida and 
West Florida, the line of demarcation being the Appalachicola 
River. By the treaty of Paris in 1783 the whole of both Floridas 
was retroceded to Spain. After the cession of the 
Louisiana territory by France to the United States Spanish, 
in 1803 the latter claimed the country west of the 
Perdido River, and in 1811 took possession of the principal posts 
therein. In 1814 and again in 1818 the Americans under Gen- 
eral Jackson ca])tured Pensacola, liut it was afterward restored to 
Spain. In 1819 Spain ceded the entire province to the United 
States. The treaty for the purpose was ratified by Spain in Octo- 
ber, 1820, and by the United States in February, 
1821, and on July 10 of the latter year the United American. 
States took formal possession of the province. The 
most important event in the early history of Florida as a L'nited 
States possession was the Seminole Indian War, beginning in 1835 
with an attack by the Indians on the white settlers, and being 
otHcially declared closed in 1858. On the acquisition of Florida 
by the United States, Congress provided a territorial form of gov- 
ernment for it, and this continued in force till March 3, 1845, 
when the territory was admitted into the Union of .States. In the 
Civil War period Florida seceded, Jan. 10, l.S(;i; received a provi- 
sional form of government from the national authorities, July 13, 

— 13 — 



1865 ; repealed the ordinance of secession, October 28 following; 

adopted its pi-esent constitution in May, 1868; and was read- 
mitted to the Union on July 4 following. During 

Civil War the war the State authorities took possession of 

period. Fort Marion, the arsenals at St. Augustine and 

Chattahoochee, and the important naval port of 

Pensacola; and the national authorities recovered possession of 

Fernandina, St. Augustine, Jacksonville and other important 

places. 

ISllil.TOOItAPHY. 

Vignole's History of the Floridas (IS'24); The War in Florida 
(1830); Cohen's Florida and its campaigns (183i;); Williams's Terri- 
tory of Florida (1837); Sprague's Florida War (1848); Irving's Con- 
quest of Florida (1851); Bill's Winter in Florida (1870); Fairbanlcs's 
History of Florida (1871); Lannier's Florida, its Scenery, Climate, 
and History (1875); Davidson's Florida Guide (1889); Deland's Flor- 
ida Days (1889); Harcourt's Home Life in Florida (1889). 

Augtist, 1904. George J. Hagar. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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